Silky Oak Thinline Telecaster

[stevesandy]

I have been following the threads for some while and in my infinite wisdom(please read this as What was I thinking! ) I decided that two or three guitars at home were not enough so bugalugs decides lets make a guitar.
I chose a thinline Telecaster.
I have at this stage turned a large piece of tree( Silky Oak) into some reasonable size pieces to start the body which has been glued shaped and is ready for the cap and back.
The piece of timber for the top is 8 mm thich Silky Oak which has lovely figure and is stable as it was the side of a very old wardrobe that has been in my brothers shed for who knows how long.
How do I refinish the timber for the top it was originally French Polished but has been painted over with house paint.
I will post some images of the tree that I started with and the progress so far soon. Thanks in advance Steve

[Andrew_B]

hmm silky oak for a hollow body, bit soft?

i know it soaks up alot of finish lol

will look good!

[floody_85]

Didnt you use a bit of silky oak for sumthing andrew?? Maybe im confused lol..Where u been hiding anyway!

[Andrew_B]

yes, book matched silky oak top on the bass i built

[stevesandy]

Thanks for the comments.
I havent had a chancs to upload images yet they will come I have been trying different types of finish and will go with some of UBeaut Hard shellac any suggestions on which glue to use to glue the cap and the back on.

[woodturner777]

Titebond should work perfect,
We will see what others suggest.

[Sebastiaan56]

I decided that two or three guitars at home were not enough so bugalugs decides lets make a guitar.

Fair enough I say. If people made guitars instead of war this would be a pretty cool planet! Problem is you get half way through a build and you start thinking about the next three...

A place to start is to make sure your log is dry, very dry, as in drying for a couple of months at least since you cut it up. As Bob says Titebond seems to work pretty well.

[woodworm1]

Silky oak will look sweet, but is crazy soft. i'd be looking around at 2 pack varnish/laquer finishes to try and tough it up.

I am not sure what French polish contains but if me I'd try to find out before attempting to paint, just in case it stops varnish from adhering to the wood.

[stevesandy]

Thanks for all the comments again I will answer the questions /comments that were made in no paticular order,
I went with the hard shellac on the silky to get the full gloss finish yes I understand that the wood is relativly soft but with this finish it should be durable enough for me.(What do you guys do with your guitars I just play mine?)
The slab of wood that i cut the body out of was dry when I brought it home about four years ago and has been under cover at my brothers house since.(it was very dry when the timber was cut and sized)
From a what I thought was a resonable piece of tree I managed to get the blank with one board left over and it has cranky mad as grain all over the place.
The images are me with the body the last plank and a similar pieco of tree that I started with,the silky cap with a bit of water to bring up the grain and another shot of the size.The piece with the stain is how I intend to dye the edge of the body.
I intend to glue up some pieces and check that the glue dye and finish dont do weird and wonderful things to each other when i have these glued up and colored I will look at how I will finish the cap to the body.

[Sebastiaan56]

Nice piece of timber! You are going to post photos of the build arent you.

In my limited experience with dyes its the quality of the joint that will matter. The better the joint the less problems all around. Make that a blanket statement "the better the joints the better the whole job!"

[kiwigeo]

I am not sure what French polish contains but if me I'd try to find out before attempting to paint, just in case it stops varnish from adhering to the wood.

French polish is shellac. The French Polish refers to the method used to apply the shellac....ie a pad loaded with shellac and alcohol and lubricated with a small amount of suitable oil (I use walnut oil).